1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to controlling access to a media item. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accessing a group of media items. This method and apparatus may, for example, be applied to a video streaming service that operates over a network.
2. Description of the Related Technology
With the growth of high-speed network connections, the streaming of audio-video data has become a viable option for the supply of media to a user. This audio-video data may comprise, amongst others: movies, television programs, Internet programming, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), radio programs, music videos and/or audio tracks, user-generated content and so-called “podcasts”. Typically, audio-video data is stored on a video server and delivered to a client device over one or more intermediate network connections. For a residential user, these network connections may be provided using a variety of physical communications media, for example a fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable connection from a property to a local exchange which is then coupled to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or a cable provider's network system. Alternatively, wireless telecommunications systems such as those using the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or any of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards may provide a communications medium for fixed or mobile client devices. These latter network systems may in turn be connected to a series of one or more networks that may comprise servers, routers and other networking equipment that communicate using protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). These systems are often collectively referred to as the “Internet”. The video server is also connected to the same systems. Hence, audio-video data may be said to be delivered to a client device over the “Internet”.
The trend towards high-speed network connections that can support the streaming of audio-video data has progressed in parallel with an increase in the quantity of digitized media content. For example, it is not uncommon for newly released movies to be available as a digital download as well as being available as a digital file on a conventional storage medium such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD). Furthermore, many content owners and suppliers are digitalizing catalog movie titles. With the communication capabilities of the Internet and so-called social media technologies, e.g. messaging and publishing technologies, the cultural awareness of consumers is also growing. This is driving a demand for more obscure media items that may have had a foreign and/or limited public release. There will thus soon be a point where most movies that have been released to the public in the last century will be available in a digital form suitable for delivery over the aforementioned high-speed network connections.
The increased viability of digital delivery over the Internet and an ever increasing library of media items lead to technical challenges for media suppliers. The growing library of available media items requires large-scale storage systems. At the same time, an increasing number of users seeking access to content requires fault-tolerant systems that can cope with high traffic rates. Large and complex systems that meet these requirements are expensive and require full time maintenance from one or more engineers. These requirements are also compounded by user's expectations. Users often look for, and expect, quality-of-service (QoS) and picture or sound quality equivalent to broadcast networks, such as terrestrial television or radio, or DVD playback. This requires high picture resolutions, so-called high definition (HD) formats having resolutions of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p) or 1920 by 1080 (1080i/1080p), and/or high bit rate or lossless audio compression technologies. Meeting these expectations requires an increase in the size of the digital files and thus the storage demands are more onerous. This needs to be traded-off with caching and access strategies that allow streaming, for example, some compression formats require complex encoding and decoding algorithms that introduce unacceptable delays into streaming services.
Media suppliers that are not content owners also have to implement technical systems that can accommodate the requirements of the content owners. Licensing arrangements for digital content often require the recordal of media-supply metrics. For example, copyright provisions may mean that a license limits the number of downloads of a particular media item, e.g. 200,000 user downloads, or that the license requires geographical limitations, e.g. users in country C are not allowed to download the media item.
There is thus a need for an approach to accessing media items such as audio-video data in applications such as video streaming that overcomes at least a number of the aforementioned requirements, for example that supplies high-quality data over networks such as the Internet while minimizing the cost and complexity of the supply systems.
There is yet a further need for a workable approach to accessing a near infinite library of media items that does not overwhelm a user yet allows serendipitous discovery of new content.